How to sketch circuits

This article was taken from the November 2012
issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in
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Circuitry is technical, but it can also be artistic. "You can
build circuits straight on to paper, even in a spiral notebook,"
says Jie Qi, a member of the
High-Low Tech Group at the
Media Lab. Here she explains how to draw your connections.

1. Gather your kit You'll need LEDs for surface-mount technology -- the
small components you see on circuit boards -- to lie flat against
your page. And get a power supply too: "Coin cell-batteries are
great because they're flat and provide just the right amount of
power for LEDs without overpowering them," says Qi. Last, find some
conductive copper tape.

2. Sketch your circuit "Trace the footprints of your components directly on to
the paper [in pencil], then connect the dots between these
footprints to draw in all the connections in the circuit." To light
the LEDs, connect them by drawing lines from the + end to the + end
of your power supply, and the -- ends of the LEDs with the -- end
of the cell.

3. Connect with Copper tape "Now you're ready to turn your pencil sketch into an
actual functioning circuit." Tape the conductive copper tape
over the lines connecting the components. If the tape is too wide,
cut it thinner with scissors. Soft copper tape can be curved by
folding. "But don't fold too many times or it will break."

4. Make paper switches Place the two ends of the switch (the traces that will be
connected and disconnected) next to each other in parallel. Use a
third piece of conductive copper to bridge these traces. "Between
the parallel traces and the bridge, place a paper space with a hole
large enough to expose the two parallel traces when someone presses
the button."

5. Place the components Once you've finished laying down the circuit connections
and switches, place the components over the copper traces. "For LED
circuits, you can simply tape the LEDs on to the copper traces to
make the connection," explains Qi. "For more complex circuits with
many connections, solder your components to the copper
traces."

6. Add some power All you need now is power. "You can create a simple
battery holder by folding a corner of your paper and using a binder
clip to secure the
battery in place." There's a tutorial at hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=1149
and one for a creating a separate battery pouch at web.media.mit.edu/~jieqi/?p=50